Lakehead University Appoints New Associate Vice-President Research
The appointment of Dr. Panu is part of Lakehead University's commitment to become one of the top 25 research-intensive universities in Canada in the next 5-10 years. As a senior member of the Lakehead University research executive team, Dr. Panu will work with the Vice-President Research to launch and manage key research initiatives, including the development of the Lakehead University Research Plan (2006-2011) and the related implementation plan; establish a research grant internal peer-review system; institute new internal research funding mechanisms; improve the quality of major grant applications to external funding agencies; create and lead an Awards Nomination Committee, to name a few.
Dr. Panu joined Lakehead University in 1986. He is an internationally recognized researcher in the area of water resources engineering, and more specifically in hydrologic and hydraulic systems, drainage engineering, and water supply engineering. He has extensively published the results of his research in national and international journals, supervised highly qualified personnel, and continuously received substantial external research funding. In recognition of his research contributions, Dr. Panu received the Lakehead University Distinguished Researcher Award in 2002.
"Dr. Panu is an excellent team player and collaborator and has an extensive national and international outreach," says Dr. Rui Wang, Vice-President (Research) at Lakehead University. "His comprehensive research background and dedication to Lakehead make him the perfect Associate Vice-President Research for Lakehead."
Dr. Panu has collaborated in joint research projects with colleagues from several Lakehead departments, and with co-investigators from other Canadian universities. Internationally, he has collaborated with Gifu University for adopting the pattern recognition technique in fuzzy theoretic concepts in the analysis and interpretation of radar-based rainfall forecasting. He has also been collaborating with Kyoto University for analyzing streamflow data from the Japanese rivers, to test the applicability of the pattern recognition technique.
Dr. Panu has also been involved in a variety of activities both inside and outside of the University. At Lakehead, he has served and continues to serve with distinction on several committees at the department and University levels. Before assuming the responsibility of Associate Vice-President Research, Dr. Panu was Chair of Senate Research Committee. Outside of Lakehead, he serves on several community boards and contributes to the general benefit of the community. For over ten years, Dr. Panu has been Chief Judge for the Annual Northwestern Ontario Regional Science Fair.
For more information or to interview Dr. Panu or Dr. Wang, please contact Marla Tomlinson at 343-8177.